Gathering / Ricing
Announcements
- Permits are available online for camping, gathering, ricing, deer, bear, small game, turkey, and migratory bird hunting during and ~ 2 weeks prior to their opening dates. If you already have a NAGFA account set up, you can issue your own permits. Detailed instructions for issuing permits online can be found here. If you have not previously been issued an off-reservation permit, you will need to contact your registration station or conservation law enforcement office to set up an account.
- Updated Treaty Hunting Regulation Summary for the 1837 and 1842 Ceded Territories in Wisconsin and Minnesota is available here.
- Updated Model Off-Reservation Conservation Code for the 1837 and 1842 Ceded Territories in Wisconsin is available here.
- Commission Order No. 2024-03 Tribal Gathering on State Lands - Wisconsin 1837 and 1842 Ceded Territory is available here.
- Hand harvest, handheld nets, and electronic calls are not permissible methods of migratory bird harvest in 2024. GLIFWC staff continue to work with US Fish and Wildlife Service to implement a longer term agreement to allow tribal members to utilize these hunting methods in future seasons.
- The Swan Season is currently OPEN
Swan season will close if 50 trumpeter swans are harvested. See migratory bird harvest regulations for more information. - Trumpeter Swan Harvest to Date: 6
How To Get Off-Reservation Treaty Harvest Permits
Off-reservation treaty harvest permits are required for hunting, trapping, fishing, and gathering activities in the ceded territories. Permits can be obtained at your tribal registration station or conservation office. A tribal ID from one of GLIFWC’s member tribes is required to be issued a permit for off-reservation treaty hunting, trapping, fishing or gathering in Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota. Permits are also available online for some activities after establishing an online account at a tribal registration station or conservation office.
Where Can I Exercise My Treaty Rights?
In general, off-reservation treaty rights may be exercised on publicly accessible lands within the ceded territory. An interactive map of the ceded territory can be accessed here:
Useful PDF Documents:
- Ceded Territory GIS Version 2.1 - includes numbered boundary segments with map and associated table including legal, map and treaty language reference information.
- Guide to the Southern Boundary of the Wisconsin portion of the 1837 & 1842 Ceded Territories - includes maps and descriptions of the features used to define the southern boundary.
Tagging and Registration
SPECIES | TAGGING REQUIREMENTS | REGISTRATION |
---|---|---|
ELK | You must have a carcass tag in your possession to hunt elk. Attach the carcass tag immediatley upon harvest. | Elk must be registered in person at a tribal registration station or by a GLIFWC warden by 5 pm on the day after harvest. |
DEER | You must have a deer or bear stamp on your hunting license to hunt deer or bear. A carcass tag is not required, however, if you leave a carcass unattended in the field, attach a tag to the carcass with your NAGFA ID and Stamp#. | Registration can be via phone, online, or in person at a tribal registration station or by a GLIFWC warden. Deadlines: in-person, by 5 pm on the third working day after harvest; phone/online/GLIFWC warden, by 5 pm the day after harvest. A registration tag is not required, however, if you leave the carcass with a third party, attach a tag to the carcass with your NAGFA ID, Stamp# and Harvest Report#. |
BEAR | ||
BOBCAT | You must have a carcass tag in your possession to harvest bobcat, otter, fisher, and marten. Attach the carcass tag immediatley upon harvest. CITES tags are required for bobcat and otter if the pelts will be sold. CITES tags can be obtained from a GLIFWC warden. |
Bobcat, otter, fisher, and marten must be registered in person at a tribal registration station or by a GLIFWC warden by 5 pm on the third working day after harvest. |
OTTER | ||
FISHER | ||
MARTEN | ||
TURKEY | You must have a turkey stamp on your hunting license to hunt turkey. | Turkey must be registered by 5 pm on the third working day after harvest. Registration can be via phone, online, or in person at a tribal registration station or by a GLIFWC warden. |
SWAN | You must have a swan stamp on your hunting license to hunt swans. | All swans must be registered in person by presenting a fully feathered carcass to a tribal registration station or GLIFWC warden within 48 hours of harvest. |
CRANE | You must have a sandhill crane stamp on your hunting license to hunt sandhill cranes. | Cranes must be registered within 48 hours of harvest. Registration can be via phone, online, or in person at a tribal registration station or by a GLIFWC warden. |
- Phone Registration: 844-234-5439
- Online Registration: glifwc.nagfa.net/online/
Shooting Hours
Local sunrise and sunset times can be determined here.
SPECIES | SHOOTING HOURS | |
---|---|---|
START | END | |
Bear | 30 minutes before sunrise | 20 minutes after sunset |
Deer | ||
Elk | ||
Bobcat | ||
Beaver | ||
Bobwhite Quail | ||
Hungarian Partridge | ||
Pheasant | ||
Ruffed Grouse | ||
Sharp-tailed Grouse | ||
Turkey | Spring: sunset; Fall: 20 minutes after sunset | |
Coyote | 24 hours per day* *During the Wisconsin regular firearm deer season: 30 minutes before sunrise - 20 minutes after sunset |
|
Cottontail Rabbit | ||
Raccoon | ||
Red Fox | ||
Gray Fox | ||
Red, Gray, Fox Squirrel | ||
Snowshoe Hare | ||
Unprotected Species | ||
Night Hunting Deer | 1 hour after sunset | 1 hour before sunrise |
Local sunrise and sunset times can be determined here.
SPECIES | SHOOTING HOURS | |
---|---|---|
START | END | |
Bear | 30 minutes before sunrise | 30 minutes after sunset |
Deer | ||
Badger | ||
Bobcat | ||
Beaver | ||
Bobwhite Quail | ||
Coyote | ||
Cottontail Rabbit | ||
Hungarian Partridge | ||
Mink | ||
Muskrat | ||
Pheasant | ||
Red, Gray, Fox Squirrel | ||
Ruffed Grouse | ||
Sharp-tailed Grouse | ||
Snowshoe Hare | ||
Turkey | ||
Raccoon | 24 hours per day* *During the Minnesota regular firearm deer season: 30 minutes before sunrise - 30 minutes after sunset |
|
Red Fox | ||
Gray Fox | ||
Unprotected Species | ||
Night Hunting Deer | 30 minutes after sunset | 30 minutes before sunrise |
Night Hunting Bear |
Local sunrise and sunset times can be determined here.
AREA | SHOOTING HOURS | |
---|---|---|
START | END | |
1837/1842 Ceded Territory | 30 minutes before sunrise | 30 minutes after sunset |
1836 Ceded Territory | ||
1837/1842 Ceded Territory HAND HARVEST METHODS | 24 hours per day |
Non-Timber Forest Product | Small-Scale Harvest Limits | Harvest Guidelines |
---|---|---|
Bark | > 20 trees requires site management plan | |
Boughs | > 2 tons (pickup loads) requires site management plan | |
Firewood | > 10 cords (pickup loads) requires site management plan | |
Ginseng | Closed November 1 - August 31 | |
Lodgepoles (non-birch) | > 75 lodgepoles requires site management plan | No more than 50% of a species in any particular harvest area unless covered by a site management plan |
Maple Sap/Sugarbushes | Requires site management plan |
Note: These limits apply to 1836, 1837 and 1842 Ceded Territory National Forests, Apostle Islands National Lakeshore, and Wisconsin State Properties
Live Trees > 5" DBH | Small-Scale Harvest Limits |
---|---|
Live Trees | > 5 trees requires Tribal Timber Harvest Framework Agreement |
Salvage Timber | > 5 trees requires Tribal Timber Harvest Framework Agreement |
Note: These limits apply to 1836, 1837 and 1842 Ceded Territory National Forests
PERMITS: |
A tribal Off-Reservation Natural Resource Harvesting Permit is required for off-reservation ricing. This permit is available free of charge at your tribal conservation department. You must carry your permit with you when ricing off-reservation. |
RICING STICKS: |
You must use smooth, rounded, cedar rods or sticks no longer than 38 inches. (Note: "binding" the rice is not permitted.) |
BOATS: |
Boats can be no longer than 17 feet, or wider than 38 inches. The gunwales of the boat cannot be modified to capture rice outside of the boat. Boats can only be propelled with push poles or paddles. |
RICING HOURS: |
10 am until sunset on all date-regulated and non-regulated public rice waters. |
DATE-REGULATED LAKES: |
No ricing is allowed on the off-reservation lakes listed except for the days they have been named open by the tribal ricing authority. The dates that a date-regulated lake is open for harvesting will be posted at access points to the lake. Rice waters not listed may be harvested whenever the rice is ripe. |
PERMITS: |
A tribal ID is required for off-reservation ricing. |
RICING STICKS: |
You must use smooth, rounded, cedar rods or sticks no longer than 32 inches in length and which are held and operated by hand. (Note: "binding" the rice is not permitted.) |
BOATS: |
Boats can be no longer than 18 feet, or wider than 38 inches. The gunwales of the boat cannot be modified to capture rice outside of the boat. Boats can only be propelled with push poles or paddles. |
RICING HOURS: |
9 am until sunset on all public waters. |
OPEN SEASON: |
No member shall harvest wild rice in any body of water except during the times(s) as such body of water is posted open by the Mille Lacs Wild Rice Authority. Posting will be done on the shores of and at places of access to the wild rice waters. |
An interactive map of rice waters with opening dates, aerial photos and relative abundance estimates are available here to help plan your trip.
- 1837 Treaty Conservation Code for the Minnesota Ceded Territory
- 2024 Birch Maps CNNF Maps 1-12
- Apostle Islands National Lakeshore 2009-2010 Treaty Hunting, Trapping And Gathering Regulations Summary
- Balsam Harvest Guidelines
- Firewood Forest Invasives Prevention Guidelines
- Forest Invasives Regulatory Review: Existing Regulations, Enforcement Strategies, Gathering Codes and Response Plans in the 1836, 1837, and 1842 Ojibwe Ceded Territories
- Ginseng Harvest Guidelines
- Instructions for Self-Issue of Permits Online
- Memorandum Of Understanding Regarding Tribal - Usda-Forest Service Relations On National Forest Lands Within The Territories Ceded In Treaties Of 1836, 1837, And 1842
- Model Off-Reservation Conservation Code
- Public Lands open to Tribal Gathering
- Site Management Plan Information
- Sugar Bush Tapping Guidelines - FDL
- Treaty Gathering and Wild Rice Harvest Regulation Summary 1837 and 1842 Ceded Territories of Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota
- Tribal Designated Use, Tribal Research and Management Areas, and Tribal Closed Areas
- Tribal Gathering On State Lands Within The Portion Of The Ceded Territory Located In The State Of Wisconsin – Tribal Species Of Special Concern
- Tribal Timber Harvest Agreement Information
- Wildlife Refuges And Closed Areas
- Wisconsin 1837 and 1842 Ceded Territory Manoominikewin Regulatory Amendment
These maps depict forest stands containing birch that are scheduled for timber harvest in the near future.